REPORT: U18s 0-3 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

THE Canaries’ Under-18s fell to a 3-0 defeat against their Tottenham Hotspur counterparts at Colney on Saturday.

Spurs opened the scoring on 15 minutes when Ryan Loft capitalised on a period of sustained pressure to pounce on a loose ball and convert from close-range.

The away side looked to extend their lead before the break, but saw Kazaiah Sterling twice denied by smart saves from City goalkeeper Marcus Beauchamp while Ben Burgess also prevented the dangerous attacker with an expert last-ditch challenge.

With half-time approaching, the hosts had their best chance of the opening period when George Couzens seemed set to go through on goal only for an intelligent interception from Anton Walkes to stall the forward’s progress.

In the second half the Canaries found themselves undone twice in the space of as many minutes as substitutes Cy Goddard and Armani Daly struck to complete the scoring just before the hour-mark.

Norwich had a late opportunity to reduce the arrears when replacement Oliver Cole burst forward, but Spurs goalkeeper Tom Glover produced a fine acrobatic stop to preserve his clean sheet.

Despite the result, one major positive for the home side was the welcome return to competitive football of Louis Ramsay following a spell out of action with injury.

However, the game was overshadowed somewhat by a serious injury suffered by Spurs’ Joe Pritchard which saw the match halted for 20 minutes before the midfielder was taken to hospital.

Next up for the Canaries youngsters is a home clash with Brighton & Hove Albion this Saturday (11am), with the Seagulls playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Arsenal over the weekend.